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Standardized Testing

Websites
The Buros Institute, publishers of The Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print, provides critical analyses of tests and testing instruments.
site exerpt
Buros Center for Testing  Introducing our INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES section...
http://www.unl.edu/buros/

Essays that review news and magazine stories, from the politically conservative National Center for Policy Analysis
http://www.ncpa.org/pi/edu/edu4a.html

A nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to preventing the misuse of standardized tests.
http://www.fairtest.org

Organization devoted to improving the rigor and clarity of the process of standard-setting and testing. Provides standard-setting and benchmarking services to states and districts.
http://www.achieve.org

The primary U.S. organization of measurement researchers and practitioners involved in educational testing.
http://www.ncme.org

Explanations of and counterarguments to often-used criticisms of standardized tests.
http://www.edexcellence.net/library/phelps.htm

The federally-funded Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing conducts research on topics related to K-12 educational testing.
http://cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/index.htm

ISC home page, headquarters for research on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), PIRLS, and other ISC projects.
http://www.timss.org/

The new Programme for International Student Assessment of the OECD, involves dozens of countries testing their 15 year olds' skills and knowledge as they approach the end of compulsory education.
http://www.pisa.oecd.org

EdTrust works for the high academic achievement of all students at all levels, kindergarten through college.
http://www.edtrust.org/

A series of essays from the year 2000 that counter allegations made by standardized testing's opponents.
http://www.educationnews.org/tes..._bashing_series_by_richard_p.htm

Essays from the maker of the SAT, GRE and other well-known standardized tests.
http://www.ets.org/aboutets/issues.html

An association of professionals with responsibilities for administering assessment programs in K-12 public educational settings. A selection of their research papers and newsletters are available on the site.
http://www.natd.org

Provides education's consumers access to information and opinion independent of the education community and sympathetic to the consumer's concerns and priorities.
http://education-consumers.com

As home schooling grows as a movement, there is increasing political pressure to legislate and control home schoolers.
http://www.lessontutor.com/dw1.html

Essay on the positive "unintended consequences" of high-stakes testing.
http://www.educationnews.org/in_...efense_of_testing_series_uni.htm

Complete 1992 report from the former Office of Technology Assessement, now available in PDF format.
http://searchpdf.adobe.com/proxies/0/15/54/35.html

The unfair help given to students forced Lawrence, Kansas school officials to ask the state education department to throw out some test results.
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/19990722/FP_002.htm

The "Nation's Report Card" since 1969, assessments have been conducted on national samples of schools periodically in major subject areas.
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

Assessment issue directory from ECS, an organization formed through a bipartisan interstate compact to help state officials study education issues.
http://www.ecs.org/ecsmain.asp?page=/html/issues.asp?am=1

Most American parents are being told by local schools that their children rank "above average" in both reading and math. Christian Science Monitor.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/09/03/feat/feat.1.html

Made up of elected and appointed officials; oversees the content and operation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
http://www.nagb.org

Organization representing hundreds of colleges responsible for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), the Advanced Placement (AP) program, and various equity efforts.
http://www.collegeboard.org

The organization responsible for the American College Test, required for admission to the public colleges in the majority of states; manages other tests and programs, too.
http://www.act.org

Reports, essays, and links from organization generally supportive of raising standards and measuring their achievement.
http://www.edexcellence.net/topics/standards.html

Wired News: Canadian educational software developer Gerry Morgan may have found a way to assess qualities such as creativity, insight, and teamwork.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,7571,00.html

Several dozen research reports from the maker of the SAT, GRE and other well-known tests. Reports are authored both by ETS researchers and invited critics.
http://www.ets.org/research/pic/pir.html

Article accusing a testing company of making scoring mistakes and then covering them up. New York Times. Requires registration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/2...iness/21EXAM.html?pagewanted=all

PDF format report from business/economic development group supportive of testing.
http://www.ced.org/docs/summary/summary_educ.pdf

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Equity Center position paper.
http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/educate/11.html

A comparison of the Texas TAAS test to other standards.
http://www.mathematicallycorrect.com/lonestar.htm

Television documentary focusing on the college-entrance Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/

Article accusing test development companies of inadequate staffing, quality control, and poor execution. Requires registration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/2...iness/20EXAM.html?pagewanted=all

Teachers discuss preparation for the new TAKS test in Texas.
http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/110501/new_keyto.shtml

Provides information on the appropriate use of testing in schools. Although testing is a valuable part of educational assessment, when tests are used in high-stakes circumstances, a number of safeguards must be in place.
http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/testing.html

The BOTA was created to assist policymakers and the public on issues of testing and assessment in education, the workplace, and the armed services.
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bota/

Site maintained by Peter Sacks, author of books and articles about standardized testing, intelligence testing and achievement testing in education and the workplace.
http://petersacks.org/

RealAudio stream of an NPR report on parents objecting to the use of standardized tests to promote or hold back students in public schools.
http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1068509

Summary of article challenging SAT opponents' logic, methods, and evidence.
http://www.stats.org/record.jsp?type=oped&ID=85

Discusses the reasons that some students have chosen to boycott mandatory state standardized tests. Seattle Press.
http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9151.html

Personal site of Richard Phelps which reviews over the books he has written and several other resources.
http://richardphelps.net/

This on-line journal provides education professionals access to refereed articles that can have a positive impact on assessment, research, evaluation, and teaching practice.
http://pareonline.net/

Resolution passed at the NCTE 2000 annual meeting.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/p...tions/category/assess/107356.htm

Members of the National Council of Teachers of English pass a resolution to encourage continued research regarding the impact of high-stakes testing.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/level/elem/107357.htm

Does testing unfairly discriminate against minorities? The case of GI Forum, et al. v. Texas is being closely watched by educators nationwide. Law News Network
http://marces.org/mdarch/pdf%5C1000024.pdf

Research and opinion from the American Federation of Teachers on standards and standardized tests.
http://www.aft.org/topics/sbr/index.htm

An essay by Dr. Frank Edler reviews the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP),an alternative accreditation program associated with the Higher Learning Commission, from a faculty perspective.
http://commhum.mccneb.edu/philos/AQIP.htm

Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies, Cornell University. In particular, see papers by John Bishop on student testing and John Boudreau on personnel testing.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrs/paper.html

Lawrence Rudner has set up a mock CAT to illustrate how they work, with many citations at the end for further reading.
http://edres.org/scripts/cat/catdemo.htm

Testing centers are going back to paper in some overseas regions.
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54459,00.html

A paper by Patricia A. Dunkel, Georgia State University.
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/cat.html

Relevant resources related to NCLB, both inside ECS and from other external sources.
http://nclb2.ecs.org/